Who
am I?

Career

My career began in the not-for-profit and public sectors. At managerial level I worked for housing associations, organisations supporting offenders, and mental health charities. I played an instrumental role in creating partnerships between public sector agencies to enable and build health and social care services for the community.

At the NHS as Deputy Director, I managed a team of communications and public engagement specialists, planning and implementing large scale public consultations. Due to the nature of the organisation and the level of public interest, it was a demanding role and required an ability to manage complex relationships between numerous stakeholders including Members of Parliament, patients and senior clinicians.

Owning a Business

Owning and running a business was always something I’d aspired to do, and when the opportunity to purchase an independent children’s home and school presented itself, my partner and I took it. I ran the business as CEO for twelve years before planning a successful sale and exit.

Being a business owner was without doubt the most challenging experience of my career so far. We employed a team of 30 people and operated for 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, balancing high quality, care, education and therapy for vulnerable young people alongside running a business which needed to be both sustainable and financially viable.

I know (from personal cost) how demanding running a business can be and that it can take over your life to the point of you being too involved ‘in’ the business instead of working ‘on’ the business. Experiencing the feeling of burnout was something I did not pay attention to soon enough’ after final sentence starting ‘I know (from personal cost).

Why Executive Coaching?

Looking back at my senior management roles, I believe that having a coach to support and listen to any issues would have helped me navigate some of the stresses and pitfalls that I experienced.

My approach to business consultancy, coaching and supporting executive leader and managers has without doubt been informed by my own experience, successes and failures.

Coaching and consultancy is work I really love. It’s such a privilege to create and nurture relationships with individuals and companies which evolve and enable personal and business growth.